By Morgan Kashinsky
Staff Writer
The four-part documentary “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” released on Jan. 24, became instantly popular among Netflix users.
The episodes are composed of archival footage and audio recordings of Theodore “Ted” Robert Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States, as well as reporters, detectives, district attorneys, and those who knew Bundy personally.
Throughout the episodes, we hear Bundy in his own words and in the third person, explain the rationale of his killings- seemingly wanting to confess without taking any sort of responsibility.
An unfortunate side effect of many true crime documentaries and TV shows is that many killers become “glamorized.” We can see the result of this as Twitter users had no shame in admitting an attraction to Bundy for his looks after the show had been released.
However, this is an integral part of the series- he was a charming man with subjectively good looks, according to many. And an important message to take away from the series may be to differentiate charm from safety.
“It was shocking to see how he could lure his victims that easily just by being ‘good looking,’” Tove Sparrman, a senior international business major, said. “The part that was most interesting was probably Bundy’s ignorance and how he thought he was better and smarter than everyone else.”
The rights to the new Ted Bundy film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile” by the same director, starring Lily Collins and Zac Efron, has reportedly been bought by Netflix.
If you enjoyed watching “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” you may also enjoy watching “The Staircase” and “Evil Genius,” both on Netflix, “The Jinx,” on HBO, and the listening to the podcast “Crime Junkies” on Spotify.
When consuming true crime media, keep in mind that the stories, victims, and their families are real, and the crimes have had tangible impacts on the lives of everyone involved.
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